View full sizeAt MSU's Kellogg Biological Station, GLBRC researchers are evaluating the performance of a variety of novel bioenergy crop production systems for crop yield and quality, impacts on microbial-plant interactions, biogeochemical and biodiversity responses and water use. The U.S. Department of Energy awarded millions to MSU and the University of Wisconsin to continue such research.Courtesy MSU

EAST LANSING, MI -- Michigan State University and the University of Wisconsin will continue their partnered research of advanced biofuels thanks to $125 million from the U.S. Department of Energy.

The
Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center, housed at the Wisconsin campus in Madison, will use the five-year grant to continue its work
providing the basic scientific foundation for the sustainable, large-scale
production of advanced cellulosic biofuels technologies to help meet the
nation's growing energy needs.

"MSU is proud of the expertise and experience we bring to this effort, from our world-renowned plant research to our faculty in engineering, agricultural economics and education, as well as the scientists at the scale-up facilities at MBI," MSU President Lou Anna K. Simon said.

"The GLBRC has provided unprecedented opportunities for us to collaborate across campuses and disciplines, and we know that this integrated approach will drive the most powerful solutions to our energy challenges."

The GLBRC is taking a holistic "field to fuel approach" that evaluates the energy efficiency, sustainability and economic practicability of several technologies.

"GLBRC researchers, in partnership with the state of Wisconsin, the state of Michigan and affiliated industries, have made substantial progress toward developing the next generation of advanced biofuels," said Tim Donohue, GLBRC director and Wisconsin professor of bacteriology.

"Renewal by the Department of Energy permits us to build on these scientific breakthroughs and accelerate our efforts to develop sustainable biofuels strategies, from growing plants for use as energy feedstocks to exploring novel ways to convert the non-edible components of plants into fuels for the automotive, diesel and aviation sector," he said.